


Oldest Story In The World

by elyssblair



Category: Eureka
Genre: Alternate Universe - Sentinels and Guides Are Known, M/M, SFXPromptBang, Sentinel/Guide Bonding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-03-04
Updated: 2013-03-05
Packaged: 2017-12-04 08:06:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 21,510
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/708445
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/elyssblair/pseuds/elyssblair
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After fifteen years as an un-bonded Sentinel, Jack Carter has come to terms with the reality that either his Guide doesn’t exist or is one of the many who chose not to join the Sentinel-Guide Union. Between his daughter's rebellions, his trigger happy deputy and the town’s insane scientists, Jack doesn’t have time to dwell on it. Then Nathan Stark comes to Eureka. Jack recognizes him immediately as a Guide. An unregistered Guide, which means by custom and law, Jack isn’t allowed to acknowledge him as a Guide. Normally, it wouldn’t be a problem. But Nathan is Jack’s Guide. Plan A: Avoid Stark. Except, rogue weather bots and the secret schemes of the town's residents make that impossible. Unfortunately, he hasn’t come up with plan B.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Written for SFXPromptBang.
> 
> Special thanks to sunryder for the beautiful art found on [AO3](http://archiveofourown.org/works/708654) or [tumblr](http://tmblr.co/ZaskEufX2BIP).  
> To glitterfics, for the prompt:  
>  _Sentinel Jack Carter had always had a weakness for strong beautiful women so he figured that his Guide would’ve been just like that if they’d ever met but they never had. So he decided to come to terms with the fact he was obviously widowed-before-bonding and focus all his attention on his crazy new Sheriff job and having his daughter back in his life instead. Then he met the ex-husband of the latest strong beautiful woman to catch his interest. The ex-husband who turned out to be the unlikeliest Guide in the world and who sent all of Jack’s Sentinel senses into overdrive. (Up to writer if Nathan actually knows that he’s a Guide before meeting Jack)_  
>  And to lunarraine, for betaing.

Part One

Jack could smell Allison as soon as he got out of his Jeep. The soft floral scent almost always made him relax. Except for days like today, when the smell of worry and agitation were undernotes of her distress.

Picking up the pace, he jogged toward the front door of Global Dynamics, while opening the rest of his enhanced senses, hoping to get a heads up on what was wrong. No sounds of alarm shrilled from inside the building. Usually even the white noise generators in every office and lab couldn't drone out the electronic claxon. He didn't smell or taste any strange chemicals in the air or feel any of the various waves he'd been bombarded with several times, so far, in his three months as Sheriff of Eureka.

When he caught sight of Allison, she looked serene, as always. Perfectly pressed and stylish suit, sleek hair, calm expression. Whatever it was, it wasn't going to blow up or disperse poison in the next twenty minutes or she wouldn't be out here waiting for him. She’d be inside, in the thick of things. He slowed to a walk, straightened his leather jacket and smiled.

"What's the crisis of the day?"

"Crisis?"

"You called me and told me to get down here ASAP. You're waiting for me at the front door rather than in your office. And you—" He stopped himself before he could tell her she smelled nervous. People didn't like to be reminded of the fact that Sentinels could sense all kinds of things about them they'd rather keep private.

"You look stressed." He glanced down at her hands, twisted together so tightly her knuckles were white with the strain.

Allison immediately dropped her hands and glared a little. "I'm not nervous."

"Riiight." He dragged the word out until she pouted at him. Then he curled his thumb in his belt loop and leaned against the wall to wait her out.

"Not nervous… exactly," she finally sputtered into the silence. "Just a little… concerned."

"Concerned about what, exactly?"

"Fargo called this morning to tell me the Senate committee finally appointed a new interim director and he'd be arriving this morning."

"So who is it? Someone scary? Intimidating?"

"I don't know. Fargo didn't say."

"Why don't we go in and find out, then. He can't be as bad as the last director."

"Well, considering Warren King was in cahoots with the town shrink and a consortium of congressmen and private contractors to steal technology from Eureka, it wouldn't take much. No one from the DoD to the Senate was happy with what happened here last week. I'm worried they’re sending someone to cleanup and clamp down on Eureka. Especially us."

"C'mon, we got King and Beverly and the rest. They should consider giving us a reward. A medal at the very least."

She stared at him like he'd just suggested Einstein was an idiot.

"Carter, a priceless, unexamined artifact was destroyed in the process of us arresting Warren and Beverly. Not to mention a good chunk of Section Five."

They both glanced over at the construction equipment repairing a tank size hole in the building.

Jack shrugged. "If you're going to make an omelet, you gotta' break some eggs. We stopped a national conspiracy bent on whole-sale treason. Plus, we managed to contain the blast so it didn't take out the whole Pacific Northwest. Which, according to Henry, was a possibility."

She rolled her eyes but smiled, letting her posture and her scent relax a fraction.

"You're right. It can't be that bad. Fargo didn't sound too concerned when he called. If it had been some military type, he'd have been in a panic." She frowned a slightly. "In fact, he sounded a little excited."

"Well, let's go see who GD's new fearless leader is."

Jack held open the door and followed her through, trying hard to keep his eyes above her waist.

He failed.

Hard to blame him though. She was beautiful. Strong. Smart. Everything he liked in a woman. When he'd first stumbled into Eureka and gotten roped into helping with the whole tachyon thing, he'd been incredibly attracted to her. When he got the so-called promotion, and he still wanted to have a few words with his former boss about that, he'd hoped something would come of it.

But three months in town had made him realize they were better off as friends. There was a haunted look in her eyes the few times she talked about Kevin's father that told him she still wasn't over the loss of her first love. And even though things had been over between Jack and Abby long before they'd actually split up, he still wore the ring. It wasn't out of nostalgia or pining. It was a reminder.

A Sentinel couldn't really form a long-term bond with just anyone because that spot was reserved in his, or her, heart for their Guide. Even in a Sentinel like Jack, who was one of those ten percent 'widowed-before-bonding.' Whether something had happened to his Guide before they could meet or his Guide was one that had chosen not to seek a Sentinel, it didn't matter. If his Guide was alive and willing to bond, they'd have met at one of the Guide Institute mixers by now. 

So, no, long-term wasn't really in Jack's plans. Not now. Not ever again.

He and Allison had to work together in some pretty tense situations fairly often. There wasn't room for the kind of antagonism and silent anger simmering below the surface that had marked the last few years of his marriage.

Still, it was a cute butt.

He let a satisfied smile curve his mouth and forced his eyes back up to the dark hair before he stepped inside and allowed the door close behind him.

The scent hit him immediately. Spice. Exotic and musky. Faint like an hour or two had passed since it had originally moved through the lobby. It wrapped around him, enticed him and he inhaled deep, pulling in as much as he could.

"Carter, are you okay?"

Jack blinked at Allison and realized she was now standing ten feet in front of him. Realized he had stopped in his tracks to inhale the faint, fading scent.

"No, I'm fine. I was just… Nothing. Let's go."

"Are you sure? You didn't zone did you?"

He fell into step next to her. "I haven't zoned since that incident with Susan Perkins. The real one, I mean."

And who could blame him? When the supposedly dead woman walked into the Sheriff's office his senses had locked onto her to try to figure it out. The deeper he went, though, the more like the dead Susan she looked and smelled and sounded until he'd over-extended and dropped into a fugue state.

He still thought Jo smacking his face had been overkill. If they'd tried hard enough, they could have found another way to bring him out of it. The hand-print on his cheek hadn't faded for three days.

Allison looked at him closely. Whatever she saw must have reassured her because she relaxed and started into the usual spiel.

“Let me do the talking. If he, or she, asks you a question keep the answer short and simple. For god's sake, keep the sarcasm to a minimum...”

Jack didn't mean to tune her out but the scent was actually getting stronger. And a sound was overlaying it. A heartbeat. One he didn't recognize and shouldn't be latching on to. Not like this. Not the way he followed Zoe's heartbeat whenever she was in range. Or Allison and Jo's whenever they went into a dangerous situation.

But it was drawing him. Calling him. Thank god it was in the same direction they were going or he might well have ditched Allison to go find it.

Except, the closer they got to the director's office the stronger the scent got. The louder the heartbeat got. The more realization sank in.

This could be very, very bad.

Keeping his body tightly under control and his face straight when they walked into the office was nearly the hardest thing Jack had ever had to do. Here, he was surrounded by scent, by rhythmic heartbeat and by sheer, vibrating aura.

He saw the man's back first. An impression of tall, well-built raw power in an expensive suit. Dark, silky waves curling against the collar. When the man turned around, he distantly heard Allison gasp next to him. He couldn't respond or even be curious because he was too busy sinking his teeth hard into his own lip to keep himself from reacting.

Jack raked his eyes over every inch of the man's suit searching, hoping, praying. But there was no sign of the small, silver pin in the shape of a stylized G to signify a Guide in search of his Sentinel. Not even the gold pin to show he was bonded.

There was no doubt in Jack's mind this gorgeous man was a Guide. And not just any Guide.

His Guide.

The one made for him. The one he was meant to claim, to bond with. The one who was meant to be his partner.

And he couldn't say a word.

Without that tiny little pin, Jack was forced into silence.

Custom and law demanded that a Sentinel never acknowledge an unmarked Guide.

Ever.

Especially if it was his, or her, fated Guide.

In the past, briefly, Guides had been pressured and forced into service by the government in order to get the most productivity out of Sentinels. But civil rights groups and Sentinels themselves had protested and fought until privacy laws were put into place. Now, Guide testing was purely voluntary. And Guide status was confidential unless the individual chose to advertise his status.

Either way, this man was off limits.

After several seconds of struggling to get his more primal instincts under control, Jack finally managed to come back to some semblance of normal only to realize the tension in the room wasn't just him.

Next to him, Allison was stiff and angry, her arms crossed tight across her chest and a death glare aimed at the man.

The dark-haired man, presumably the new director, looked relaxed under the gaze, but Jack could see the hint of tension in the drawn back shoulders and faint lines of strain around the easy smile. The man's eyes flicked in a slow assessment over Jack before settling back on Allison.

"Nathan, what are you doing here?"

"Allison, it's lovely to see you again, too. How are you?"

"Nathan."

It was as close to a growl as Allison ever got and it made Jack actually look away from his— from the man, to make sure she wasn't on the edge of violence.

The man, Nathan, apparently, must have recognized the danger as well, because he sighed, settled a hip on his desk and answered her question.

"I'm the interim director of GD."

"Why?"

"Why? Because the committee wanted it filled quickly with someone who wouldn't take long to get up to speed. Since it was my job, before King fouled it up, they ask me to take the reins until they could decide on a permanent solution."

"Why did you accept? Why did you come back?"

His expression softened and went a little wistful.

"Because I missed yo—" the new director caught himself, slid his gaze over Jack for a long second before focusing back on Allison. "I missed Eureka. And I missed the work we do here. I even missed Vincent's cooking."

The scent of Allison's anger was sharp and acrid and practically burning Jack's nose.

He leaned closer and whispered quietly into her ear.

"Weren't you the one telling me we should try not to antagonize the new director on the first day?"

It, at least, reminded Allison there was someone else in the room. Her body eased slightly even if her anger didn't. She took a deep breath and looked at Jack, finally. He arched an eyebrow and gave his best 'I'm harmless' smile. It worked. Sort of. She didn't smile but glass was no longer in danger of melting under her glare anymore, either.

"Right. Jack Carter, meet are new interim director. Nathan Stark. Nathan, this is the new Sheriff, Jack Carter.”

"Sheriff." Stark nodded, though his mouth had tightened into a slightly thinner smile when he'd watched the interaction between Jack and Allison. Piercing blue eyes drifted over Jack again and took in the stylized S overlay on his badge. "Or is it Sentinel? I could never quite get the hang of the proper etiquette."

Nathan's smirk was mild but his bright eyes danced with humor and Jack had to fight the urge to smile inanely back.

"Either is fine. I take it you two know each other."

"You could say that." Allison answered sharply.

"I'm her husband."

Her head snapped up and the glare was back full force.

"Ex-husband. The divorce was final three months ago." Her hands balled into fists and she took a steadying breath. "You know what? Now that introductions are out of the way, I have work to do."

Before either man could respond, she spun on her heel and stormed out leaving a trail of pissed-off vibe even a non-Sentinel could probably follow. Jack watched Nathan watch her go and swallowed hard. When the blue eyes swung toward him, he forced himself to take a step back instead of the step forward his body and his instincts wanted to take.

"I should…" He pointed a thumb over his shoulder, willing coherent words to come as Nathan's eyes narrowed on him. "She probably… I should go."

Jack retreated as fast as he could, cursing fate for giving him the one thing he wanted more than anything else and locking it behind an impenetrable wall of expected silence.

#

Nathan dropped into his desk chair and tipped his head back to stare blindly up at the ceiling.

That could've gone better.

Nathan hadn't expected Allison to welcome him back with open arms but had at least hoped for something slightly friendlier. Then again, he probably should have warned her he was coming back to Eureka, rather than letting her stumble over him that way. Still, he hadn't expected her to be quite that angry. After a year and a half, he'd have thought she'd have forgotten about that last argument before he'd walked out the door. Even now, he couldn't help flinching in his chair at the memory of the sound of the vase shattering against the closed door behind him when he'd headed for the car.

But that was the past. Nathan had come back to fix the mistakes and convince her to give him a second chance. He'd learned at a young age how to go for what he wanted and he wasn't going to let anything sidetrack him.

Not even the way too attractive Sheriff. That was one more complication he didn't need. He'd had the occasional affair with Sentinels, male and female, but they were temporary by nature. An unbonded Sentinel was really only killing time until they found their Guide. Even at Carter's age, some part of him would still be waiting and hoping despite the slim chance.

Temporary wasn't what Nathan wanted now. He'd come back for a reason and he'd be damned if he got sidetracked.

He'd known mending fences wouldn't be easy but he missed Allie. He missed Kevin. He missed having a family. For awhile, in the beginning, it had filled a need in him that he'd been ignoring for years. Now, he couldn't fill it up with work and new discoveries anymore. Of course, at the end of the marriage, the family thing wasn't filling it anymore, either. But that was his fault. He knew it. He could fix it, if he just had the opportunity.

But first, he had to get Allie to stay in the same room with him for longer than five minutes.

Unfortunately, now thoughts of his ex were all twisted up with images of the buff new Sheriff.

And he really had to stop thinking of Carter that way if he had any hope of getting Allison back.

Sure he'd been attracted to Sentinel's all of his life. Even before indulging in the sexual attraction, he'd felt a pull toward the guardians. At nine, he'd seen a documentary on Sentinels and Guides. How when they met, they formed a para-psychic bond that lasted a lifetime. For a lonely boy whose mother abandoned him and who only garnered attention from his father when he solved some unsolvable problem, the idea of bonding with someone who would love him unconditionally and never leave had been enticing.

The biggest disappointment of his life occurred when he was fifteen. After six years of nagging, his father finally gave in and took him to the Guide Institute for testing. When the results came back negative, he'd been despondent for a week while his father had told him over and over again it was for the best.

Reminded Nathan that he would have risked giving up his brilliant work to be saddled with a Sentinel. A primal throwback whose solution to everything would be violence and instinct, rather than logic and reason. A caveman who would be drawn to the military or law enforcement and drag Nathan along with him.

It was easier to believe the things his father said than to deal with that nagging empty loneliness. Nathan had turned back to what he knew best and sublimated everything into his work.

And if something was missing all along, he kept it buried and silent.

After he'd won the Nobel, though, it had crashed into him. He'd achieved the highest honor of his profession and had no one to share it with. Even if his father had still lived, Nathan had long since cut ties with the man.

When he'd moved back to Eureka, he'd thought the ready-made family he found with Allison had been perfect.

He known it wasn't a love match. It was obvious that she was still very much in love with Kevin's father. But she was beautiful and smart and they truly liked each other. There was chemistry.

Affection and sex hadn't been enough for the long run, though. Two demanding careers. The desperation of always being a little disappointed in each other. Eventually it tore away at them until there was nothing but harsh words and dark silences.

Nathan had finally left Eureka because, as angry as he'd been, he'd still cared enough not to make her uproot Kevin.

But a year and a half away hadn't dulled the emptiness.

When they'd offered him the interim job, he'd jumped at it. Hoped to mend fences. Try again.

His reaction to Sheriff Carter was wholly unexpected. The hot rush of attraction when the man had walked into the room had nearly undone him. He'd kept having to force his attention back to his wife. Ex-wife, as she'd reminded him in no uncertain terms. Nathan kept trying to tell himself the surge of jealousy he felt at the soft way the Sentinel had whispered in her ear was because he wanted Allison for himself. But his eyes had watched Carter's lips not Allison's face. He hadn't offered his hand when Allie introduced them because he'd known the physical reaction would be explosive.

He rubbed the heels of his hands over his eyes and leaned back.

Forget the Sentinel.

Those affairs never lasted.

He wanted permanent.

Permanent was Allie.

He just had to figure how to convince her to give him another chance. First, though, he had to figure out how to convince her to talk to him.

#

It took Jack longer than he expected to catch up with Allison. Especially since she ignored his first three attempts to get her attention.

He finally cornered her in her office, only to realize it may have been a mistake. Her eyes were tight with strain and bright with unshed tears, her mouth pinched shut and her hands gripped the edge of her desk like it was all that was keeping her from throwing things.

"I, uh… Are you okay?"

"Carter, I just need a few minutes to myself. Please?"

"Uh, yeah, of course. No problem. I've got Sheriffing type stuff to do, anyway."

Carefully closing the door on his way out with a sigh, Jack couldn't help smiling a little at his own ridiculousness. Normally, he'd be relieved as hell not to have to deal with a crying woman. Today, though, he'd have welcomed any distraction to keep from having to deal with the messed up curve ball life had thrown him.

He managed to maintain the numb disbelief long enough to get out of GD and into his Jeep but that was all the relief his brain was going to give him. A flood of hot, twisting emotions started deep in his gut and swamped him with anger and fear, hope and despair, the need to claim and the instinct to protect.

Fifteen years. He'd been online for fifteen years without even a hint of his Guide. Now in this crazy town full of fucked-up geniuses, Nathan Stark appeared out of nowhere.

Of course the man was unregistered and obviously looking to get back together with his ex-wife.

Jack peeled his lips back in frustration and impotent anger. Both hands slammed into the steering wheel and he didn't even feel the pain over the rushing emotions.

"Goddamn it. This is not fair. Fuck Eureka. Fuck being a Sentinel. And fuck Nathan Stark."

The radio squawked, making him jump and stare at the handset like it was an alien creature.

"Carter, come in. Carter, are you there?"

It took him a second to calm his racing heart and remind his stalled brain there was no way Jo could have heard him.

Finally, Jack took a steadying breath and picked up the handset, relieved when his voice came out normal. Relatively, anyway.

"What do ya' need, Jo?"

"Are you done at GD?"

"Just getting in the Jeep now. Is there a problem?"

"Dr. Marshall's car broke down on Old Williams Road, again. She walked into town to report it but Henry is in the middle of another call and won't get over there for a bit. Thought it might be good if you went out and kept an eye on it 'til he got there." Jo's voice lowered a little. "You know how paranoid Joyce is about that car."

He did. Of course, if he owned a 1965 Mustang, he probably would be too.

"And you didn't go out there because..."

"Well, we can't all be gallivanting around Eureka. Someone has to stay in the office to take the reports. Besides, you're already in your Jeep and don't have anywhere pressing to be."

He could hear the smirk in her voice and it drove him nuts.

"But you didn't know that, when you called."

Deep breath. In. Out. They were learning to get along and find a rhythm, lately. Which meant a little give and take in this ongoing battle of wills. Considering he'd dumped her with the suspicious sightings of the high school mascot, it was probably his turn again, anyway.

"You know what? Forget it. I'm on my way. Let Henry know I'll meet him there."

"Will do, boss." Her voice had lost some of the smugness and Jack decided to take it as a win.

Pointing the Jeep toward Old Williams Rd, Jack actually wished it was one of Eureka's end-of-the-world crises to keep his brain occupied for the next forty-eight hours or so.

Instead, all he could think was why now? He'd come to terms with his divorce. He was settling into Eureka. He was even starting to rebuild his relationship with Zoe. His life was just one cosmic joke after another, lately.

The possibility of him finding a Guide had hung over his marriage until it had self-destructed. Would he choose a platonic bond? Would his feelings for his Guide eventually eclipse his feelings for Abby? Now that he'd actually met the man, turns out it would have been moot anyway.

Jack gritted his teeth and gripped the steering wheel a little tighter. That wasn't really a fair characterization of his marriage. The potential Guide had been a nagging, unspoken wedge between them but not their only problem. Not even the most significant one, probably. Most of them his fault.

Starting with the fact that he hadn't told Abby he was a latent Sentinel when they first started dating. He hadn't thought it would matter. At 21, he was two years past the average age of coming online and it had been two generations since there'd been an active Sentinel in his family, anyway. Then she'd gotten pregnant and of course he'd married her. How could he not?

When Zoe was born, he'd felt weak and ready to take on the world at the same time. That tiny, precious bundle so fragile in his hand was an amazing, awe-inspiring gift. In that moment, cradling his baby girl and holding the hand of his beautiful, smart, strong wife, he was sure he was the luckiest man in the world and would be for the rest of his life.

Not long after, Jack had found himself tracking a fugitive, bomb-happy survivalist through forty miles of wilderness. By the time he got back to civilization, with his man, his senses were over-loaded and he dropped into a zone out that lasted for three weeks.

He'd woken up to a pissed off wife and experts theorizing that the newly emerged paternal instincts coupled with days of struggling alone in the woods had triggered his transition into an active, online Sentinel.

After that, nothing had been quite the same. They really hadn't known each other long or well when they'd gotten married and it became obvious quickly. He could sense her frustration and resentment that he'd kept such a major thing secret from her. She tried to bury her doubts and her fears under a chilly coat of armor and kept him at arm's length.

To avoid the uncomfortable atmosphere at home, Jack had thrown himself into his work. Which only fueled the distrust and frustration in a vicious cycle that raged for years.

Until he'd come home one day from a two month assignment in D.C. to find his precious baby girl was a sullen teenager and his wife had divorce papers already for him to sign.

Now, Jack wouldn’t even get the chance to screw things up with his Guide the way he’d messed up his marriage. Hell, considering his track record with relationships, it was probably better for everyone that he couldn’t say anything to Nathan Stark.

A low growl tore his attention to his passenger seat where a large lynx glared at him.

Crap.

“Look, I know you have all kinds of opinions about this, but a meddling spirit animal is the last thing I need.”

The large cat growled again, the rumble still vibrating in the air after it disappeared.

The poppy red Mustang came into sight and Jack pulled behind it, turning on his light bar before getting out of the Jeep to check out the car. He walked all the way around it but it didn't look like anything had been disturbed since Joyce had left it there. She really should let Henry give it a thorough going over considering it broke down every other week. But she was adamant about it remaining in its original condition and Henry had a reputation for tinkering. He couldn't blame her for being leery.

Jack reached out to brush a streak of dust off the passenger side door and caught sight of the gold band still circling his left ring finger. He should have taken it off a year ago, when he'd signed the papers and moved into the dingy studio apartment. But it was a reminder of his complete and utter failure. The red and blue lights flashed in the polished surface and his eyes followed the pattern...

 

Music. Loud and assaulting his ears. Fingers. Pinching and poking at his skin. Words. Muttered in a frustrated voice.

"Damn it, Carter. Wake up. You're not going to like it if I have to call Jo out here."

Jack blinked, the world coming back into focus as the captivating red, blue and gold swirls faded.

"Henry." The voice, the fingers, even the loud music coming from the tow truck, all belonged to the man who was swiftly becoming his best friend.

Shaking his head to clear the last of the cobwebs, Jack ran his hands roughly over his face, letting the sensation ground him in the here and now.

"How long have I been out?"

"I've been here about ten minutes, so fifteen? Twenty, maybe. I was almost finished when Jo called, so I couldn't have been far behind you. You all right, now?"

Jack nodded. "Yeah. I'm good."

"What did you zone on?" He glanced around at the heavily wooded land on either side of the road.

"My ring." At Henry's startled look he shrugged. "I met Allison's ex, today."

"Ah, yes. Nathan Stark. Heard he was back as acting director for GD."

If Eureka could find a way to harness the energy of its gossip mill, Jack was pretty sure it would be the town's greatest achievement.

"Yeah, well. It got me thinking about my ex." And so much more but he couldn't tell anyone what he'd been thinking about. Not even Henry. Not that he wanted to talk to anyone about the fiasco that was his life. Most of the town felt sorry enough for him as it was, just because he was average.

But Henry was nodding sagely, anyway.

"Emotional turmoil can wreak havoc on a Sentinel's senses."

"Someday you're going to have to tell me how you know so much about Sentinels."

"I did some work for the Sentinel Council a while back." Henry's eyes slid away in a familiar motion. Nearly everyone in Eureka had that look right before they uttered the world's most annoying phrase: it's classified.

What kind of work could Henry be doing for the Sentinel Council? He was a jack of all trades but he loved engineering and solving problems…

"The Tace IV," he murmured reverently, stroking his own variation of the weapon in his holster. The Holy Grail for Sentinels. A sense-friendly firearm. Nearly silent. Practically odorless. Minimal flash. Excellent accuracy.

"I can neither confirm nor deny."

But he gave the weapon a satisfied smirk.

"Too bad," Jack answered with a sharp grin of his own. "'Cause if it was you, on behalf of Sentinels everywhere, I'd have to buy you a drink."

Henry just shook his head and got started loading the car. Jack moved around to the other side to lend a hand.

"So what can you tell me about Stark?" Jack sank his teeth hard into his tongue after the words slipped out. Adding a little extra pressure when Henry gave him an odd look. "It's just, Allison seemed pretty upset. And, you know, she's a friend. I just figured I should know this guy's deal. Plus, you know, interim Director of Research at Global Dynamics probably means he's going to have a major impact on the town."

"Uh huh." Henry's knowing tone and soft smirk made it clear he thought Jack was jealous. Which was fine. It was better he believed that rather than working to figure out the truth.

Henry went back to work but started talking. "Everyone thought they were perfect for each other. Allison had been widowed since before Kevin was born and, when Nathan moved back after winning the Nobel Prize, they just sort of gravitated toward each other. Both smart, attractive and determined. They seemed like a perfect match."

"Then what went wrong?"

"I honestly don't know. Other than the usual, when two strong willed people try to make a life together. I think maybe Nathan wanted a family more than Allison specifically. And Allison wanted stability and a father figure for Kevin. One who could speak to him in the language he understood best."

"Why do you think he came back?"

"According to the grapevine, he came back for Allison."

#

Nathan's skin prickled and he looked up from the desk display. It only took him a second to notice the shadow hovering by the door.

He pressed his hands to his temple and decided to ignore it.

His second morning at GD and he sat at his desk staring at digital readouts, trying to figure out how to get things back on track. Twenty-four hours back in Eureka and it felt like he hadn't been gone at all.

The fiasco in his office with Allie and the Sheriff had been followed by a tour to get reacquainted with Global Dynamics. Just like eighteen months earlier, half the scientists had run at the sight of him, hiding from him like he carried the plague. The other half greeted him like a long lost friend, fawning over his every word like grants were going to fall from his fingertips at any second. Fargo had led the tour with his own unique, self-serving, perspective.

Allison had avoided him so completely, he hadn't caught sight of her the entire day. All in all, almost exactly like his last day at GD.

 And, after avoiding him yesterday, this morning she'd called out on a personal day. How the hell was he supposed to win her back if she refused to talk to him?

And where was he going to find the time?

The brightly lit spreadsheets mocked him from the dark surface of his desk. King had left such a tangled mess of embezzled funds and stolen technology, it was going to take weeks to sort it all out.

The shadowed wavered in the doorway again and the feeling of being watched crawled along his skin.

"Fargo, either come in or go away." He didn't bother to mask the irritation he felt. "I'm not in the mood to be watched like a caged animal today."

The assistant sidled in, tablet nervously clutched in his hands while he did his best to avoid making eye contact.

"Uh, hi. I wasn't staring. I was, uh, you looked busy, so I was just..."

"Trying to work up the courage to deliver whatever piece of bad news you've got for me?" Nathan asked dryly, keeping the frustration and resignation buried deep beneath the sarcasm. "Just tell me."

"Uh, well, Dr. Homer was doing a test flight of his weather bots over Dr. McKinney's fields. Along with gathering weather data, they're also supposed to create micro-systems to help farmers. So far, though, they haven't rained on a single plant…”

"Could you get to the point, Fargo?"

"Oh, uh, right. Um, well Dr. Flynn and Dr. Cooper were testing their anti-EMP field in the meadow next to Dr. M's farm and… "

"Anti-EMP," Nathan repeated slowly, a sinking feeling the day was only going to go downhill.

"Yeah. Um, yes. You know, a field to protect electronics from an EMP—"

"I know what it is," he growled leaning forward across his desk. "What I don't understand is why the hell it was being tested so close to another prototype?"

Fargo's chin dropped into his chest, glasses focused resolutely on the floor. A murmured jumble of words fell out of his lips but Nathan couldn't make heads or tails of them.

"What was that?"

"I, er, may have miscalculated the test schedule."

"Of course you did." Nathan forced himself to lean back in his chair rather than getting up and throttling his assistant. A faint band of tension wrapped itself around his temples and the pain began to throb in time with his climbing blood pressure. "How bad were the bots damaged?"

Fargo straightened up, face brightening. "They're not damaged at all. Actually, only one of them flew too close to the field. "

Nathan leveled his gaze on Fargo and waited until the fidgeting exploded into the rest of the story.

"There is one, teeny, tiny problem." He swallowed hard before continuing. "The bot isn't responding to Dr. Homer's commands anymore."

Nathan closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Where is it now?"

"Ah, well, that is another problem. We're not sure. The tracer also seems to be off-line."

"Schematics?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah." Fargo handed over the tablet. "The files for both the weather bots and the anti-EMP are both loaded on there."

Nathan started flicking through and trying to absorb as much as he could as quickly as he could. Fargo stood still for all of twenty seconds before he started fidgeting again. Less than a minute later his assistant was talking again.

"How'd you know I was outside your office?"

"You're not subtle, Fargo," he answered, though it was only partially true.

He'd always been intuitive and that sixth sense had been one of the reasons he'd been so sure he was a Guide as a child.

Despite the popular misconception, Guides weren't all inherently empathic. At least not in the way that modern culture insisted on portraying them in every movie of the week. They were highly intuitive in some aspect or other. Sometimes that intuition led the Guide to seem like a prodigy. For Nathan, his grasp of math had always seemed almost magical. He'd been sure his extraordinary affinity for numbers was a by-product of his gifts as a Guide.

But the tests had proved him wrong.

Turns out, he was just a run of the mill genius.

The information on the tablet gave him little insight into what might have gone wrong with the bots. This was the last thing they needed. The DoD and the Senate committee were going to be watching everything going on in Eureka. They had enough problems with missing tech inventory, he really didn't want to start his second day by reporting another one.

A smile ghosted over his lips. Allie. She'd understand the need to keep things quiet. They could solve this together. Just the two of them.

"I'll handle this." He waved a hand to dismiss Fargo without looking up. "Don't tell anyone else."

As soon as he was alone, Nathan reached for his phone, dialing a familiar number with anticipation.

"Hello, Allie," he said softly when she picked up. "Sorry to bother you on your day off but we have a small situation."

#

Allison hung up her cell phone with a sigh of resignation. She knew exactly what Nathan was trying to do. But she also knew he was right. It wouldn't take much for the higher ups to decide it was time for an outside audit of Eureka. A bunch of bean counters who wouldn't understand the eccentric personalities that were the lifeblood of the town's success.

Groaning, Allison let her head drop onto the table. She should have listened to her initial instincts all those years ago and never agreed to go on that first date with Nathan.

But everyone had been telling her for years that it was time to move on. She could love the man she'd lost and honor his memory but he'd want her to be happy. And Nathan had been sweet, romantic and persistent. Most importantly, he and Kevin had gotten along so well. It wasn't the fake interest that some men had shown her son in an attempt to get a date. Nathan and Kevin shared that unique language of mathematics that allowed them to communicate with each other.

So, somewhere around the twentieth time he’d asked her out, she'd listened to Vincent and Tess and even Sheriff Cobb when they'd encouraged her to say yes. It was easy to fall into a relationship with someone. Especially someone who understood her job and her own odd hours.

Her first husband had been the love of her life. She couldn't expect lightning to strike twice. She liked Nathan. They got along well. The sex was phenomenal. Kevin adored him. When he proposed, there was no logical reason why she should refuse. Which he'd pointed out.

That should have been her first clue.

It took less than four years for their marriage to implode.

She knew it was her fault as much as his, but it didn't make it easy to forget or forgive his high-handedness or the cocky self-assurance that he was always right.

She thought she'd gotten over the anger that had been her constant companion the last few months before he'd left. But finding him there, at GD, without any warning, had brought the fury and resentment boiling right back to the surface.

It shouldn't surprise her that he hadn't let her know he was coming back. He'd never bothered to call when he was staying late at GD. Or when he was leaving town to address some congressional committee or other.

Why should she expect him to have the common courtesy to let her know when he was coming back?

The worst part was that she'd recognize the look in his eye. Recognized the tone in his voice on the phone. Allison had no doubt he'd decided he wanted her back. She knew firsthand how single-minded he could be.

And, though she had no doubt about her ability to keep him at arm's length this time around, Allison didn't even want to contemplate how much energy it was going to take.

The man was determination personified.

Now, she had to work with him, alone, on the search for the weather bot if she wanted to keep its disappearance under wraps.

Except… she didn't.

Slowly, Allison lifted her head off the table.

Unlike Sheriff Cobb who, as part of the Army, sent his own reports directly to the DoD, all of Carter's paperwork went through her.

A slow smile curled her lips. Oh, boy, was Nathan in for a rough afternoon.

Feeling satisfied, she reached for her cell phone and hit speed dial.

 


	2. Chapter 2

 

Part Two

"What the hell were you thinking?" Jack demanded, pausing in his pacing to glare at his daughter.

Zoe opened her mouth but he held up his hands, shook his head and resumed pacing.

"Don't answer that."

His hands curled and uncurled at his sides as he moved. The left one lighter now that he no longer wore the band on his ring finger. He’d had to take it off. It had felt wrong and awkward to wear the link to his ex after meeting Stark.

Zoe huffed and slouched back in the chair, her glare following him as he made another unproductive lap of the sheriff's office.

Jo sat at her desk, playing solitaire and pretending to ignore the Carter family drama of the week.

"Don't answer that because you obviously couldn't have been thinking. No one who's thinking steals the team mascot and menaces the school with it. Especially not during final exams!"

"We didn't steal it. Borrowed. It never even left the campus."

Jack stopped in his tracks, turned and squared his shoulders, hands on his hips in exasperation.

"Erwin was testing out the modification the he made on the omniversal remote for extra credit in his robotics class." Her chin jutted up. "You'd think you'd be happy I'm getting involved with school projects."

A deep breath didn't calm him, so Jack counted to ten. Then twenty. And made a mental note to remind Henry to keep his gadgets locked up when Spencer's little brother was around.

Still, his voice had an edge to it when he finally allowed himself to speak.

"You took control of a multi-million dollar prototype animatronic robot. Without permission. Then you let it rampage through the school for an entire morning. Not to mention terrorizing your organic chemistry teacher to the point where it took me an hour to get her to come out of the supply closet."

Zoe's arms crossed in front of her and her head dropped, the pout falling into a full-fledged sulk.

"She totally deserved. She gave me a C just because she overheard me say she shouldn't take fashion tips from Mad Scientist Monthly."

Jo snorted from her desk and Zoe flashed her a grin.

"Not helping."

His deputy shrugged and turned back to her solitaire. "Have you met Dr. Findley?"

Jack tried to glare at both of them at once but the heavy scent that had been assaulting his nose was impossible to ignore.

"What is that smell?"

"What smell?"

"Like burnt fries. Oily."

"Oh, Erwin invented an earth-friendly battery recharger using eco-diesel. It's what he uses to charge the remote. Brilliant, right?" Her eyes lit up and she practically beamed at the gadget resting on his desk. A light bulb went on in Jack's head. Of course. She had a crush on the genius twerp.

The phone rang and he turned to look at Jo, who just raised her eyebrows back at him. Their usual staring contest/battle of wills ensued. On the third ring, Jack gave in and stomped over to his desk to answer, turning his back resolutely on Jo's triumphant smirk.

"Carter, here." His voice was too gruff and sharp and he cleared his throat in embarrassment.

"Allison, hi. Sorry about that." He shot a glare at the two giggling females behind him. He really deserved more respect than this. "I'm dealing with a small situation…"

"Oh, you heard about the mascot fiasco?" His glare sharpened at Zoe's unrepentant smirk, then he groaned. "Not you too, Allison. Is there anyone in town who likes Dr. Findley?"

He thought about the lecture he received when the teacher had finally emerged from her hiding place. "Never mind. What can I do for you? I thought it was your day off?"

He listened while she explained the crazy, GD related problem of the day. "Okay. I'll meet you there in a few minutes."

He hung up the phone and grabbed his jacket.

"Zoe, you're grounded for a month. Go straight home. S.A.R.A.H. will be monitoring you, so don't try to slide one past me."

"Dad! Summer vacation starts next week." Her shriek could have peeled paint but he'd been expecting it and dialed his hearing way down.

"It's not negotiable." Turning to Jo, he resolutely ignored the pout. "I have to meet Allison at McKinney's farm about a rogue, weather… thingy. Can you make sure the remote gets put someplace safe until Henry has a chance to reclaim it?"

Then he was out the door before he had to listen to anymore of his daughter's tantrum.

#

Nathan smiled when Allie got out of her car and started across the field toward him.

"Allie. Looking lovely as always." And she was. Despite the conservative nature of her job and the wardrobe it required, Allison always looked elegant and gorgeous without giving up any of her professionalism. Of course, for Nathan, competence was as much a turn on as curves and his wife… ex-wife… was one of the most competent people he knew.

"Nathan."

She said his name with polite resignation but at least yesterday's anger was gone. It was a start.

He slipped a hand onto her back and she stiffened. He flashed his best trust-me smile.

"The grounds a little uneven and those shoes might not be stable on it."

She glanced down at the wedge-heeled sandals then gave him an exasperated sigh. He started to guide her back to the canopy where the temporary research station had been set up. Before they got two steps closer to the shelter where the three researchers and Fargo argued over who deserved the lion's share of the blame, the sound of another vehicle arriving stopped him cold.

"Don't worry, it's just Carter." The sweet look she gave him was just a little too innocent.

"Carter? I thought we agreed we needed to keep the missing bot quiet?"

"We do. Don't worry. Unlike Sheriff Cobb, he isn't Army. As a Marshal, he's technically on loan from the Department of Justice, so all of his reports to the DoD go through me, first."

The Sentinel was already out of the car and walking towards them and Nathan knew that he only had seconds to convince Allie that this was something that they needed to do on their own.

He turned his back and dropped his voice. "He's not one of us. He can't understand the magnitude of the impact this could have on the town."

Allison’s lips pinched together and she shook her head at him. "He's been here for three months and he's been doing just fine. He has a unique perspective that's surprisingly effective."

"He's also a Sentinel, in case you forgot." Carter's voice said from behind, amusement and irritation tilting his tone. "He can hear the flies buzzing around the cows in the next pasture over, if he wants to."

Nathan rolled his shoulders and grimaced before turning around. "Sheriff. I didn't forget. I just assumed you had better manners than to eavesdrop."

Allie slipped away from his hand and Carter's frown deepened when he noticed. A flicker of something akin to jealousy flashed in the sheriff's pale eyes. An answering dark reaction bubbled deep in Nathan.

Christ, how ridiculous was it that he couldn't be sure he was jealous of the potential that Carter might be attracted to his ex-wife because Nathan wanted Allie back. Or because he wanted Carter's attention for himself.

"If you'd bothered to pay attention to your surroundings like a responsible scientist…"

"You shouldn't be testing if you can't even control…

"Fargo should have double-checked…"

The unrest under the canopy had exploded into shouts and shoving.

Carter's body squared, going from that loose, laid-back calm to focused and commanding. He strode purposefully toward the group inserting himself between Fargo and one of the scientists.

Nathan followed him, not bothering to hide his amusement when the sheriff absorbed a couple of limp slaps before the men realized they'd been separated.

"Enough. Or you're all going to spend the night in my jail. And there's only one cot."

All four exploded into finger pointing and Carter just shouted over them. "I don't care whose fault it is, right now. What I want to know is if you can tell me where the weather balloon went?"

"Bot," Nathan corrected. "It's a weather bot."

"Thanks." The sheriff rolled his eyes, obviously not really grateful at all for the help. "Where's the weather bot, now?"

When he was informed that they didn't know and, worse, had no way to find it, Carter pressed the heel of his hand into his forehead.

Nathan knew exactly how he felt.

"Well, you two seemed to have this under control." Allie's voice ghosted from farther away than he would have expected. He turned to see she was back on the road, next to the open driver's side door of her car.

"Allie? Where are you going?"

She actually pretended to look surprised by his question. "To enjoy the rest of my day off, of course. Make sure Carter sends me the report when you're done."

With a jaunty wave, she disappeared into her car and pulled away.

Nathan ran a frustrated hand through his hair and turned back to the mayhem only to find the sheriff had everything under control. All four scientists were calm, now, and almost eagerly showing him the prototypes. The four remaining metallic disk-shaped bots lay inert on the grass, green showing through the hollow centers contrasting garishly with the bright purple of the unique alloy that comprised their housing.

A couple flashes of that easy-going smile and Carter had them eating out of his hand. Nathan almost couldn't blame them. Almost.

But he wasn't going to give into that attraction. He had to keep his eye on the long term goal. Still, he could appreciate the view. Leaning against one of the canopy posts, he crossed his arms and watched the Sentinel work.

Asking questions with words like gadget and thingy and incomprehensible waves of his hands that were surprisingly insightful, all the same, the Sheriff got to the heart of the information. Which wasn't much.

The bright smile dropped into a frown a few minutes later when he realized no one could tell him where to even start looking for the missing equipment. By the time Carter's cell phone rang, the sheriff was trying to wrap his mind around the fact that the bot was not an AI but could make independent decisions about crop development and the weather conditions they required.

"Carter, here… Hey, Jo, have you… Ah, yeah. That sounds like our thing. I'll check it out. Let me know if there are any more sightings."

He snapped his phone shut and finally looked up at Nathan. "Apparently, a very angry woman named Marta Nelson called. She loudly complained about a year's worth of research into the effect of drought on certain genetically altered plants being ruined by a purple, metal tire-shaped thing that broke into her greenhouse and rained all over them."

"All right. Let's go."

Carter froze, hesitation pulling his mouth into a frown, blue eyes drifting over Nathan before the sheriff forced his gaze somewhere beyond the pasture.

"I, uh, can handle this. You can go back to Global Dynamics and I'll let you know what I find."

Interesting. Perhaps the attraction was mutual. As well as the uneasiness it caused. Nathan couldn't decide if that was a blessing or a curse. Either way, it didn't matter.

"Carter, this is my second day as interim Director. I am not going to try to explain how I've already lost a couple of million dollars worth of research and technology. You're stuck with me until we find it."

"Fine. But I'm driving."

#

Two straight days of chasing bizarre, spontaneous weather and purple donut sightings was more than enough for Jack. He was exhausted. Not to mention soaking wet and covered in mud from slogging through yet another bog. He couldn't decide if they were lucky or not that they'd finally arrived when the field was still being with inundated rain.

"Unlucky," he muttered when a crack of thunder rumbled over him and echoed across his senses. The faint hint of ozone tingled in his nose. He moved instinctively, shoving Nathan out of the way a heartbeat before lightning struck inches away from them.

"Definitely unlucky," he muttered again.

Stark stared at the curl of smoke quickly dissipating in the rain. "Definitely," he nodded in agreement then smiled, a rare real smile without any hint of smugness. "Thanks."

Jack's heart hammered in his chest. A hundred words tripped over his tongue begging to be spoken. A single mantra loudest and most demanding: My Guide. Mine.

Instead, he gave a tight, wan smile of his own. "Anytime."

As they continued to plod through the thick clinging mud, Jack tried hard not to keep looking back at Stark. The director had long since lost his jacket and tie. The button up shirt had been shed after the incident at the aviary. Now only the white cotton t-shirt clung to a physique that was surprisingly buff for someone who split his time pretty evenly between the lab and a desk. Looking led to staring. And staring led to the overwhelming urge to touch. Not to mention using all his other senses to imprint every tiny detail of his Guide.

So Jack kept his eyes resolutely forward, even when Stark began talking behind him, the casual conversational tone doing nothing to hide the aggravation.

"You know, I'm not sure who I want to kill first. Dr. Homer for inventing the damn bot. Flynn and Cooper for being so completely self-absorbed they didn't notice several large metal disks flying around them until one hit their field. Or Fargo for screwing up the scheduling to begin with."

Jack grinned at the way Stark's thoughts mirrored his own.

"Fargo. Definitely Fargo."

He glanced back to catch the single dark eyebrow arched questioningly.

"I've only been here three months and I'm not a genius or anything. But it didn't take me long to figure out about half my reports involved the words 'Fargo inappropriately pushed button' or 'Fargo gave the file to the wrong person.'"

"And yet, you live in a house he designed."

The spark of mischief and relaxed amusement hit Jack hard. He wanted with a hunger he'd never experienced. He'd known Nathan was smart and sexy. He wore those traits like a badge of honor. An arrogant mask of self-confidence that hid the rest of his humanity.

Seeing him like this, with his guard down, bantering and showing the real Nathan, made Jack want to be the one he trusted with that openness and honesty all the time. Wanted to be the safe place where Nathan could relax and be himself.

Stuffing it down into the dark place where he buried all the other things he wanted and couldn't have, Jack shifted the sudden need behind his own version of the bland, amused masked and shrugged.

"I like to live dangerously."

And there it was again. The brief, barely there flicker of… something across Stark's face. Jack couldn't name it, but it sent a shiver through him that had nothing to do with the cold, driving rain.

The past two days had been a discordant mix of heaven and hell. He wanted to throttle Allison for leaving him alone with temptation. And he wanted to thank her.

Despite chasing a phantom bot, being yelled at for various ruined experiments, being attacked by agitated birds and, now, getting soaked by rain and mud, Jack had enjoyed every moment of the past two days working side by side with Nathan Stark.

It was a tantalizing glimpse of the unattainable. A bittersweet knowledge of what could have been if things had been just a little bit different. His senses had been singing, on point and in tune with everything around him. His body had hummed and ached and breathed freely with every inadvertent brush of skin. The snark and banter had made him laugh, made him think, challenged him. The man fascinated him, mind and body, in a way that no one, not even Abby, ever had.

They'd even, surprisingly, found things in common. Some music and movies, artists and food.

It ached, deep and unceasing, to know that it was temporary. 

Realizing how quickly he was getting swallowed up in being close to his Guide, Jack had been carefully keeping his senses to himself for the last few hours. No touching, keeping his nose and eyes turned away. Every time he caught himself tuning into the soothing rhythm of Stark's heartbeat he forced himself to push his hearing out and away, looking for anything and everything that wasn't Nathan Stark.

Like now. He jerked his head around focused his eyes ahead and forced his ears out, away from the temptation behind him. Already, the hours of self-denial were taking its toll on Jack's senses. His hearing dipped, fading out for a second before roaring back into an almost deafening rush. Then it settled and locked onto a faint hummed traveling just under the rhythm of the rain.

Jack stopped and held up his hand in a signal that Nathan had quickly picked up. A sign he was onto something and needed an undistracted second.

He followed the whine, let it pull him around the steady fall of raindrops. Followed it…

 

"Carter. God damn it. Not now. Can we at least get out of the rain?"

Jack blinked back, letting go of the sound of the bot's engine to latch onto Nathan's voice. The feel of his hand, warm and welcome, pressing against Jack's chest through the cool, soaked fabric of his shirt. He twitched his gaze up from Stark's hand to stare into concerned and frustrated blue eyes.

God. His Guide was close. So close. Only Nathan's fingertips were touching him but barely an inch separated Carter's body from Nathan's. He could feel the heat of it, warming him inside and out. He groaned then squeezed his eyes shut, feeling the hot blush of embarrassment flood his face.

"You back?" Nathan's voice was softer, concern edging in a little deeper. The light breath ghosted across Jack's skin, setting his nerves on fire and he had to swallow back a second moan.

Forcing his body back under control, Jack nodded then used every drop of strength he had left to step backward, away from temptation.

"Yeah, I'm good." He cleared his throat in an effort to get rid of the heavy hoarseness filling his voice. "How long?"

"A minute or two. This happen a lot?"

Carter hadn't had a lot of zone outs but when he did, they usually lasted at least fifteen minutes before he could be pulled out. And the recent surge in fugue episode could be directly related to the sweeping chaos of his emotions and senses since meeting his Guide. Telling Nathan that, though, would be bordering on saying too much. Instead, he went with part of the truth.

"Not really. Just settling into a new territory. Eureka offers some unique experiences for a Sentinel's senses."

"I bet. What got you this time?"

"The bot, actually. It's that way."

"Oh." For half a second, Carter could have sworn he Nathan's frown twisted into disappointment. Then the Director was moving. "Let's go get it, then."

Jack realized he was seeing what he wanted to see and heaved a sigh before following after Stark.

 #

Nathan rolled his shoulders to loosen the creeping ache of mis-used muscles. He and Carter sat on the side of the road, the now quiescent bot a high-tech trophy lying between them as they grinned triumphantly. It had taking Carter riding the thing like a high tech bucking bronco to the ground then holding it down while Nathan did some quick and dirty rewiring to shut it off.

Of course the two of them now looked like b-movie bog monsters. The rain had stopped as soon as the bot had been disabled and the bright summer sun had baked on the mud covering them from head to foot. The itchy discomfort barely bothered him, however, in the satisfaction of triumph. He and the Sheriff had worked surprisingly well together. Had gotten along better than he'd ever expected. And the sight of the sexy Sentinel stripping off his uniform shirt to get rid of some of the mud hadn't hurt either. The faint hint of etched lines of muscles under the damp t-shirt made Nathan’s mouth water before he'd forced his eyes away.

Riding the high of adrenaline and attraction, Nathan wondered if he'd dismissed an affair with Carter too early. He was almost positive he'd seen a hint of interest in the Sentinel's expression whenever he thought Nathan wasn't looking. It sent a thrill of anticipation and challenge through him. A sensation he hadn't experienced since he'd chased the breakthrough that led to his Nobel.

Carter's head cocked then his eyes turned toward the road. It was several seconds before Nathan heard the approaching truck and another minute or two before it rolled into sight.

Allison stepping out of the passenger side hit him like a punch to the gut. She was why he was here. A family. Something permanent. Something he could depend on. Sure, she didn't give him the rush that Carter did. But Carter couldn't give him what he craved. At his age, the chance of a Sentinel finding a Guide was slim but still possible. And the next time Nathan settled into a family, he had no intention of letting it go without a fight.

"Allie," he called, pushing to his feet and moving toward her without a backward glance. It was only when she gave him that one-sided grin and backed up with her hands in the air that he remembered the mud. He flashed a harmless smile and stopped. "Glad to see you. Do you think you could give me a ride back to GD?"

"Sure, what about Carter?"

"His Jeep is on the other side of the bog. No sense in us getting both of his seats dirty."

He glanced over his shoulder to see a flash of longing replaced quickly by a flash of anger move across Carter's face before it settled into a neutral expression. Nathan's breath hitched then he reminded himself of the rumors that Carter wanted Allie, too. Nathan was just caught up in the moment, seeing things that weren't there. Wanting things that weren't healthy.

With smug conceit, he covered the momentary lapse. "You don't mind, do you Carter?"

"No, not at all. I'll just slog back through the muck." The grimace belied the neutral tone. "But Global Dynamics will be getting both the dry cleaning and the detailing bills."

 #

Allison glared at the ringing phone in her hand. Nathan's smug face staring back at her from his photo.

Her thumb hovered over ignore and her teeth sank into her lip as she hesitated. She wanted to press it more than anything but she couldn't. Part of her job description included answering calls from the Director of Research at Global Dynamics no matter the time of day. Ducking calls from your ex was not a reasonable excuse for shirking ones duty. Especially because the odds were equal that it could be a real emergency rather than Nathan's continued persistence.

With a heavy sigh, her thumb moved to swipe over answer, instead.

"Nathan." She kept her voice crisp and professional but allowed a hint of irritation to filter through. Maybe he'd finally get the hint. Right. He'd been back for nearly two weeks and nothing seemed to deter him.

"Allie, hi. I was just thinking we need to sign off on those reports from Section Three. How about we order in some lunch and go over them together?"

"Sorry, Nathan. I'm already out and about to walk into Cafe Diem." She glanced up at the doors, glad she didn't have to make up an excuse. This time.

"Great. I'll meet you there in ten minutes."

"No!" Damn it, her reprieve had been short lived. Then she caught sight of two familiar faces through the window. "I mean, I'm meeting Jo and Zoe for lunch. It's a girl thing. Just girls."

"Oh. Of course." She almost felt guilty for the disappointment that weighed down his voice. Almost. Then he opened his mouth again. "Okay. Then just stop by my office when you get back and we'll spend the afternoon on those reports."

Her sigh sounded almost like a growl and she pushed through the door of the café a little more forcefully than necessary. "Fine, Nathan. Whatever. Goodbye."

Allison knew she sounded clipped and rude but enough was enough. She'd take drastic measures if she could just figure out what would work. Dropping the phone back into her purse, she nodded and forced a smile when Vincent asked her if she wanted her usual. Then she made her way back to Jo and Zoe's table, not wanting to be caught in a lie. She dropped unceremoniously into the chair with a loud groan.

"Rough day?" Zoe asked.

Jo arched her eyebrow and her lips twitched. "More like a rough two weeks."

Allison felt one corner of her mouth lift up in spite of her mood. "That obvious, huh?"

Jo bobbed her head but didn't speak. The twisted grin was her polite way of telling Allison she looked like hell.

Scrubbing her hand through her hair and tugging on it a little Allison squeezed her eyes shut and let everything spill out.

"Nathan Stark is the most infuriating man alive. He's asked me out in some way, shape or form every day for the past two weeks. I tried polite refusals. Firm refusals and outright, angry hell-no’s but he just gives me that polished smile. He doesn't ever push. Which is a little disconcerting considering how I've seen him bully Congressmen and Army Generals. He's just persistent. I keep waiting for the next phase of his plan. Because I know Nathan. And there is definitely a plan."

Zoe and Jo didn't bother to hide their amusement but Zoe patted her hand in mock sympathy.

"There, there. Wanna' trade? Dad calls me every twenty minutes to check on me and has S.A.R.A.H. giving him detailed reports of how I spend every minute. I would much rather be asked out by someone rich, handsome and successful."

"And old enough to be your father," Allison added dryly. "I thought you were grounded? What are you doing here? If your father catches you out he'll tack on another month."

"I got time off for good behavior. He's still tracking my every move, though." She pinched her lips in a grimace at Jo. "Deputy Lupo is on probation officer duty today."

Jo's face went tight and she growled. "Among other unpleasant things."

"Hey!"

"No offense. But I didn't sign on to have all my training go to waste answering phones, writing traffic tickets and hauling around juvenile delinquents."

"Hey!" Zoe protested a second time. "None of that stuff is officially on my record. I'm a troubled teen not a delinquent."

The conversation paused when Vincent brought over three steaming plates. He opened his mouth for some of his usual patter but caught sight of the dark expressions all three women held and made a hasty retreat for the kitchen.

"Whatever." Jo waved her fork before stabbing into her pasta. "All I know is Carter has been like a bear with a sore paw for weeks."

Her voice dropped into a passable mimic of the Sheriff. "'Answer the phone, Lupo. Set up a speed trap, Lupo. Go break up Spencer's movie night, Lupo.' Like that worked out so well last time."

"I know. Every time I call to get him to send me the updated field reports he either growls or mopes."

"And who do you think he makes input the updates?" Jo moaned pathetically.

Allison couldn't help laughing. Somehow, knowing she wasn't alone made it easier to bear the frustration and impatience that had been plaguing her. Her appetite returned and she dug in before jumping back into the conversation.

"I haven't had any peace since Nathan and Jack were chasing that weather bot around town."

Jo's head snapped up, her eyes bright with mischief.

"Oh, no. Don't even think about it." Allison shook her head while Zoe looked between them with confusion. Then she caught on and smiled.

"It wouldn't be that hard. And we could make sure it didn't interfere with anything major."

"It would be unethical…" Her voice had lost a little of its conviction, though.

Then her phone began to ring. When she fished it out of her purse, she wasn't surprised to see Nathan's picture announcing her incoming call.


	3. Chapter 3

Part Three

Global Dynamics was the last place Jack wanted to be at ten o'clock on a Friday night. Scratch that, alone with Nathan Stark in his office at GD was the last place he wanted to be. Ever.

Nathan sat at his desk, dark waves of hair mussed from the frustrated hand running through it. The suit coat and tie were tossed casually across the sofa and his sleeves were rolled up to expose strong forearms.

Christ, Jack needed to get a handle on this if he was drooling over the man's wrists.

"What are you doing here, Carter?"

And that really shouldn't feel like a rejection. Shouldn't slice through him and leave him breathless with pain. Instead of stumbling, he pulled his shoulders straight, leaned against the door frame and stuck his thumbs in his pocket.

"Nice to see you, too, Stark. I'm here because you apparently have yet another problem. Allison called me, sounding half asleep, and told me you were missing equipment again. She mumbled something about it being my job, told me to get over here. Then she hung up on me."

"Huh. Yeah. She's been doing that a lot lately."

Jack couldn't stop the grin if he wanted to. His greatest fear was Allison giving in and getting back together with Stark. He was pretty sure he couldn't handle seeing his Guide with someone else. But Jack and Zoe were settling in surprisingly well, he didn't want to leave Eureka, either. As long as Allison continued to shut Nathan down, he didn't have to think about it.

He pushed away from the door and gave in to the urge to move closer to his G— to the Director. He did, however, force himself to stop while several feet still separated them.

"What's the problem?"

Nathan looked down to where his hands curled into fists on his desk, his mouth twisted and he finally looked up warily at Jack before answering.

"One of the weather bots is missing. Again."

Jack made a slight choking sound as he swallowed his laughter but didn't bother to try and suppress his amused grin.

"Have you considered upgrading your security at all? I mean the string tied with tin cans might work for a place like, say, Microsoft. But for Global Dynamics? You might want to consider investing in a dog or two."

"Ha. Ha. Very amusing, Sheriff. But I'm still missing a million dollar prototype that's already wreaked havoc on this town once."

Jack nodded and did his best to dim his mirth. "You're right, sorry. Why don't you give me the run down?"

"Since the whole Beverly Barlow/Warren King fiasco, I instituted a weekly inventory of all current projects. During today's inventory it was noted that only four of the bots were where they were supposed to be. The fifth was unaccounted for. I've already checked the security data and no one could have gotten them out of GD without proper clearance."

"So, who has proper clearance?"

"Me. Allison. Homer."

"The guy who invented the weather bots? Maybe he just took it out for a test and forget to fill out the proper paperwork."

Nathan was shaking his head before Jack could even finish the thought. "He didn't. I've already talked to them. Besides, he’s not even working on the weather project, at the moment."

"He’s not?"

"No. After he wiped and reset the defective bot I temporarily reassigned him to a project in Section 7 that's behind schedule for its field test next month."

"A-ha." The exclamation echoed in the office and Jack winced. He hadn't intended to sound like the bumbling detective from a b-grade noir mystery.

Nathan rolled his eyes and leaned back in his chair. "I know I'm going to regret this, but 'a-ha' what?"

"Nothing." Jack kept his face neutral and tried to preserve his dignity as best as he could. "I just think I'll go have a chat with Dr. Homer."

"Why? I told you, I've already talked to him."

It was Jack's turn to roll his eyes. "Because it took less than a day in Eureka for me to realize how obsessed you people could get over your pet projects. Especially, if you feel someone is unfairly taking your toys away. Homer may not be happy about being reassigned. Temporarily or otherwise."

He started for the office door but Stark stood up abruptly and moved to cut him off.

"I'm going with you."

The firm command pissed Jack off. It also set off a wave of conflict in him. He wanted his Guide by his side. He wanted to work with him again. And feared it, just as much. The fact that his Guide obviously didn't think he was competent to do his job alone twisted with painful bitterness in his heart.

Choosing to focus on the anger, he stopped in his tracks and glared at Stark.

"Look, despite what you obviously think, I'm good at my job. I am more than capable of interviewing a suspect without help."

Blue eyes widened with surprise and Stark lifted his hands palms out. "Whoa. I know you're good at your job. I've read your file. You have impressive solve and recovery rates. Not to mention the multiple commendations."

"You've read my file?" The anger and hurt bled out of him in surprise. "According to the DoD, I'm not even allowed to read my file."

"My clearance is higher." Nathan answered with a shrug.

"If you think I can do my job, why do you want to come with me?"

For the second time, Jack got to see one of those rare, real, smiles slide across Nathan's lips. This one held a hint of self-depreciation, though.

"Because I'm one of those obsessed geeks and Global Dynamics is my pet project. One of my toys is missing and I want it back."

"Oh. Ok. Let's go."

Even as he walked out of the office with Nathan, Jack knew it was a bad idea. So. Very. Bad.

When their bodies brushed as they tried to get into the elevator at the same time, Jack had to hold his breath against the electric tingle that threatened to overwhelm him. He regretted that the town's shrink was now in Federal prison. He really needed to talk to someone about this sudden streak of masochism.

#

Three hours later, Jack fought exhaustion and frustration as he drove Nathan back to his temporary home. The conversation with Dr. Homer had been a bust. He’d shown any signs of deception that Jack's senses could pick up. Which didn't necessarily mean anything. A lot of people had learned the skills to hide their emotions from a Sentinel.

Hell, he could only tell when his own daughter was lying to his face about fifty percent of the time.

And Nathan. The man rarely gave anything away. Of course, Jack was so tied up in knots when he was around the Director, he doubted he could untangle the truth from the whiplash of wishful thinking and worst case scenario he seemed to jump between when the man was within fifty feet of him.

Besides the interview, Jack had used his senses to try to ferret out any clues in the scientist’s homes. But the faint hints of the alloy's unique scent lingering around hadn't been more recent than the week or so Homer had claimed had passed since the last time he'd seen the bot.

When Jack pulled up in front of the house, Nathan didn't move to get out of the Jeep right away.

"You believe him, right?"

"Unfortunately. Just once, I was hoping for an easy case."

"Now what?"

"Now we go with the next obvious answer. He didn't fix the malfunction and it managed to get out on its own. We put out an APB on strange weather conditions and buy rain coats."

Nathan laughed and Jack had to tighten his hands on the wheel not to give in to the urge to reach across the seat and touch. It was with relief and regret he watched the director open the door and climb out.

"Goodnight, Sheriff. Keep me informed of sightings. I want to be in the loop on this one."

"You got it, Director. But don't blame me about the 3 a.m. wake up calls. That seems the way things always go in Eureka."

He got a relaxed chuckle that vibrated through him as the Jeep door slammed shut and Stark headed inside. Before he could give in to the urge to bang his head on the steering wheel, Jack put the SUV in gear and headed home to have his melt down in private.

#

A week, multiple random sightings and futile chases later, Nathan was ready to borrow one of Lupo's over-engineered weapons so that if he ever did see the damn weather bot, he could put it out of his misery once and for all. It was incredibly frustrating the way everyone in town seemed to have seen it at some point or other. Everyone but him and Carter.

He pushed the aggravation out of his head along with thoughts of weather drones and handsome Sentinels.

It was a beautiful Saturday afternoon and Nathan intended to spend it relaxing. He'd settled into a corner table of Cafe Diem with his tablet and a Vinspresso. Part of his plan to win Allie back included proving that he knew how to take a break from work now and then. He'd even dug out a pair of jeans and an ancient college t-shirt to show her he knew how to relax.

Not that he'd had much time to pursue his plan. When he wasn't sorting through the mess King had left, he was following Carter on one wild goose chase after another, since the bot seemed to appear and vanish at the drop of a hat.

It had surprised Nathan, a little, how well the two of them had worked together once they'd gotten past the initial enmity. As long as neither of them mentioned Allison, they got along just fine.

As if the thought had conjured her, Allie walked through the door. A soft, flowing sundress accentuated her curves and the bright smile lit up the room. Then she caught sight of him and the smile dimmed while her body tensed like it was preparing for battle before she gave him a quick, acknowledging nod. For a minute, he considered calling her over, inviting her to join him. Instead, he reluctantly returned the nod then forced his attention back to his tablet. From the corner of his eye, he watched her relax and join Jo at a table on the other side of the cafe.

The ache he felt wasn't heartbreak, he knew. More the realization that he'd have to give up on something. A Stark rarely gave up what he wanted. He hadn't intended on taking no for an answer but a bullied yes might be just as bad as the no. He'd just never expected her to be so adamantly against a reunion. He figured he'd show her he'd changed, that he was capable of compromise and she'd give him a second chance.

 He didn't want to be the reason she couldn't smile, though. Didn't want to be the reason why she felt like she had to leave a room. Honestly, they'd actually been getting along pretty well this week, when he'd been too preoccupied to push her.

"Stark."

He looked up at the sound of his name, pushing aside the melancholy epiphany to find the Sheriff walking up to his table. He set the tablet down and raised an eyebrow in lieu of a greeting.

But Carter didn't make his usual smart ass comment. Instead, pale blue eyes looked him over, raking from the faded white of well-worn jeans up over the soft, slightly too tight cotton of his t-shirt. The Sheriff actually licked his bottom lip before his eyes started to make the return journey down Nathan's body.

And, yeah, that was gratifying. It wasn't the first time Nathan had noticed Carter noticing him, but usually the sheriff was way more subtle. A quick glance as they sat side by side in the Jeep. Falling back to walk a few steps behind. Nathan had gotten used to it. Never called him on it, because he wasn't exactly innocent of a sneak peek or two, either. He also didn't want to know why the sheriff always looked uncomfortable afterward, when he realized he'd been checking Nathan out.

Mostly, though, because Nathan didn't want to explore his own attraction to Jack Carter too deeply. But, since he was being honest with himself at the moment, Carter was really the other half of the equation of why he was realizing it might be time to give up the dream of recreating the family he'd lost.

More often than not, he found himself wanting to spend time with Carter rather than Allie. He'd even dropped in to see him at the Sheriff's office. Told himself and the Sentinel it was to get an update on the bot, of course. Or to check over the map they'd started marking sightings on in hopes of finding a pattern. Twice, he'd found himself having lunch with Carter. Or staying longer than he'd intended while they got caught up in talking about some movie.

Nathan hadn't had time for baseball since he was a kid. Had forgotten how much he'd loved the mathematics of it. But, despite his busy schedule, he'd found himself tuning into games and highlights all week. Just so he could have the fun tormenting Carter by espousing the genius of sabermetrics.

All of this was still a bad idea, though. And if one of them didn't say something soon, the rest of the cafe was going to notice their silent, mutual admiration.

"Sheriff? Something I can help you with?"

The eye blink was so slow, Nathan could have timed it with a minute hand. Then Carter pressed his lips together and shook his head slightly.

"Yeah, had another bot sighting. The Harlan Animal Preserve. Taggart's convinced it's intent on taking out the Munjac with lightening strikes."

#

"God damn it. I swear it feels like this thing is messing with us on purpose."

Nathan silently felt like agreeing. By the time they got to the preserve, the bot gathered clouds had started to drift away, the sun was shining through in patches and there was no sign of the weather bot anywhere.

"The bot isn't an AI. It's running on programming alone."

The dark look Carter threw at him made him shrug.

"Messed up programming, granted. But it's not thinking on its own."

The sheriff just rolled his eyes and planted his feet in the soggy mud, hands resting defiantly on his hips.

"Can you smell anything?"

A disgusted snort answered him first. "A faint trace. It went straight up before it left. The currents it draws around itself get a little funky. Couldn't follow the scent even if I had a way to get up there."

A glance around told him the dense tree's around the clearing would obscure even a Sentinel's line of sight.

"I guess we head back and mark it on the map." Carter turned back toward the trail that led to the preserve's parking lot.

And froze.

All the color drained out of the man's face and it didn't even look like he was breathing. For a second, Nathan was afraid he'd zoned again. Then he saw what Carter was looking at. A large feline sat square in the middle of the path. Golden eyes stared unblinkingly back at them.

"Is that a lynx?" he asked.

Carter startled at his question and sent a guilty look Nathan's way before his face cleared. "Uh, yeah. I think it is."

There was something wrong with his voice, a tightness that Nathan had never heard before. Then his blue eyes got even wider and Nathan looked back to see a crow swoop low over the cat before landing on an overhanging branch. The cat watched it, yawned, then stood up and sauntered down the path away from them. Then crow launched itself into the air flying low over and passed it, forcing the cat to speed up and give chase until both were out of sight.

"What the hell was that?" Nathan asked.

Carter opened his mouth but shook his head when nothing came out.

"I thought there weren't supposed to be any predators in this part of the park?"

"There's not. I'll let Taggart know." Carter finally found his voice after the strange animal behavior.

Nathan was fairly sure he'd missed something in the whole weird event but it was obvious the sheriff didn't want to talk about it. At the moment, Nathan wasn't inclined to push. He had enough on his mind already.

Instead, they walked back toward the Jeep in silence. About halfway down the trail, Carter cocked his head, obviously listening to something beyond Nathan's range of hearing. Then he groaned and picked up the pace. Eventually, he heard the sound of teenagers giggling just before the came around the curve to find a blond girl and red-haired boy tussling teasingly over a backpack in the front of what looked like a cross between a golf cart and the Mars rover.

"Zoe?"

"Dad!"

"What are you doing here?" The two Carter's sounded eerily alike as they demanded answers in stereo.

"I'm working," Carter growled.

"So am I," she growled back, then frowned. "Sort of. I'm helping Erwin with his biology project."

"Biology?" His voice broke and his eyes bulged slightly.

"Daaad!" Screeching with frustration, Zoe crossed her arms tightly in front of her. "He's studying the feeding habits of the Greater Sage-Grouse."

"Fine. But what did I tell you about taking rides with anyone I haven’t vetted?"

"You said I couldn't get in a car with anyone until you'd run their driver's license. This is not a car. It's a golf cart."

"Actually, it's a—"

"Shut up, Erwin."

"No, I'd like to hear this. What is it, exactly, Erwin?"

Nathan didn't even bother to hide his smile. The poor kid gulped so hard he nearly swallowed his tongue as his eyes darted between belligerent father and daughter.

"A golf cart, sir. What else would it be?"

"What's its top speed, Erwin?"

Zoe made a sound that Nathan was pretty sure was universal to furious women but Carter cut her off with a raised hand. "Erwin?"

"Uh, haven't actually run it full out. Got it up to 60, maybe 65."

"Thoughts so." Carter's mouth flattened out to a line and he nodded. Then he turned back to his daughter. "Get in the Jeep, Zoe."

"Dad!" She sounded both outraged and mortified at the same time.

"In. The. Jeep."

"Fine."

She grabbed her backpack and stomped her way over to the SUV. All three males cringed at the reverberating bang of the car door slamming behind her.

Carter glared at the Jeep for a minute before turning hard eyes on the teenager attempting to shrink in the front of the golf cart contraption.

"Go straight home. I do not ever want to catch you on the roads with that thing unless it's registered with the DMV and you have a valid driver's license, do you understand?"

"Yes, sir. Thank you, sir."

The cart pulled away with a lurch.

Carter turned to look at Nathan with sheepish smile and a faint tinge of pink along his cheekbones.

"Sorry. I know family drama wasn't on your list of things to experience today."

Nathan froze, his amused smile tightening a little in the corners. He had been enjoying it. He had been enjoying everything about Carter, including his interaction with the teenager who was as bullheaded as he was.

He enjoyed watching Carter, whether he was in full Sentinel hunting mode tracking the bot, relaxed and watching a baseball game or furious with his daughter. Enjoyed him in a way that had only been abstract with Allie.

The idea of playing house with her had never quite met up with the reality. The reality of Carter far outstripped his imaginary world with Allie.

Back in the truck, Zoe sunk down low in her seat, full pout on display. Carter returned her glare in the mirror, then put his vehicle into gear with a little more force than necessary before pausing to sniff.

"Does Erwin's golf cart run on his eco-fuel, too?"

Zoe's eyes narrowed and pout twisted into a snarl. "What do you care?"

"I don't," he answered with an eye roll then pulled out onto the road before turning to Nathan.

"Do you want me to take you back to the cafe? Or just back to your house?"

"Uh, home, I guess. I think I've had enough relaxation for one day."

He lifted his lips into a sarcastic half smile that he didn't quite feel. Home and quiet were exactly what he needed at the moment, though. He suddenly had quite a lot to think about.

#

"Carter, are you all right?"

Jack lay sprawled flat on his back in the mud puddle, soaking wet yet again, and thought about the question for a few seconds. Every inch of his body hurt but he was pretty sure nothing was broken. Falling ten feet out of the sky however, had knocked the wind out him so all he could do was gasp and nod in answer.

Knees hit the ground next to him, expensive pants carefully finding the dryer patches around Jack. Strong fingers moved over him, checking for damage, anyway. God it felt good to have his Guide's hands on him. His body softened, the discomfort of the hard ground and drenched clothes disappeared. Everything inside Jack focused on the fingers pressing and drifting over his body. Wishing the searching hands would slip beneath the cold, wet uniform shirt.

Searching. Fuck. Clinical and deliberate. Nathan wasn't caressing. He was checking for injury.

Jack tried to force his focus away from the sweet torture of his Guide's touch and tuned in to the rest of his senses but they kept slipping.

"God damn it, Carter. Do not zone. Talk to me. How bad is it? Where does it hurt?"

Christ, the raw concern in Nathan's voice was nearly as much torture as the feel of his hands. It would be too easy to pretend it was so much more.

The past couple of weeks, while they'd played hide and seek with the bot had been the best and worst of Jack's life. Spending time with Stark, having him drop in out of nowhere for lunch or to talk baseball, it felt so right. Was easy to imagine it, what they could have, if everything was different.

Then he'd leave and Jack would be alone again and facing reality and it hurt twice as much.

"I'm fine." He said when he finally had enough air back. "Just bruised."

He smacked the still probing hands away as he tried to sit up, looking around and trying to stretch his senses in every direction.

"Where did it go?"

"Easy, Carter. It's gone. It flew away as soon as it shook you off."

Jack winced at the reminder. Not his finest moment.

He'd tried the same maneuver that had brought the bot down last time. Despite Stark's continued insistence that it wasn't an AI, it had apparently learned its lesson. As soon as he'd managed to jump up and get a hold of it, it started flying erratically, bouncing like a bucking bronco until he'd lost his grip and splashed down hard in the puddle.

It wouldn't have been quite so bad if it hadn't happened in front of an audience. Jack glanced over at the group of kids huddled under the park pavilion. They looked unharmed and unconcerned as they giggled and pointed like he was some kind of afternoon entertainment. The young summer rec leader had managed to herd them under the shelter before the downpour had started.

They weren't even damp. Neither was Stark, thanks to the high tech umbrella he'd started carrying everywhere they went. Now that the rain had stopped, it had shrunk back down to a lighter sized rectangle doodad and he slipped it back into his pocket before he stood up and offered Jack his hand.

As Jack scrambled to his feet, the shockingly cold, mud-caked clothes clung to his back and he groaned at the way his shoes squished with every step.

Stark opened his mouth but Carter just held up his hand. "Not. One. Word. Your fancy umbrella wouldn't have helped when I fell in the mud."

Nathan flashed a quick 'I-told-you-so' smile anyway, then shook his head. "I was just going to suggest we get you over to Global's infirmary and have you checked out."

"I'm fine. I just need to swing by the house and get a change of clothes."

Stark gave him a once over, pointing out the stiff way he held himself with a single arched eyebrow.

"Really. I'm fine. Better than them."

He hooked his thumb toward the kids, now out from the pavilion and moping around the picnic table. The soaked and ruined remains of their lunch sagged in disintegrating paper sacks.

Fried chicken and French fries from the smell of it. He'd be disappointed, too.

Behind him, Stark huffed a resigned sigh and brushed past Carter. "I'll take care of it."

He pulled the rec leader aside and Carter turned up his hearing in time to hear, "... Cafe Diem. Have Vincent put it on Global's tab."

Carter whistled tunelessly back to the SUV, ignoring Stark's smirk when he grabbed a tarp from the back and covered his seat before getting in and heading for home.

#

Nathan stepped over a discarded book bag and pushed aside two sweaters and a hoodie to make himself comfortable on Carter's couch while he waited. From the sounds of the argument the sheriff was having with S.A.R.A.H. over the laundry, it might be awhile.

When the man finally came down the steps in a pair of jeans so worn and soft they clung to him like silk and a faded U.S. Marshal t-shirt pulled across broad shoulders, Nathan found his mouth dry and his body shifting to follow the Sheriff’s every move of its own accord.

Thankfully, Carter was still arguing with his house so he didn't notice Nathan's uncharacteristic loss of control.

"I'm sorry, S.A.R.A.H., from now on, I'll try to schedule my run-ins with weather machines around your laundry schedule."

"If you had just told me this morning that you only had one clean uniform left, I could have rearranged my schedule..."

Ignoring the by-play, Nathan watched the casual strut as Carter moved through his house and started rethinking his decision not to act on his attraction to the delectable Sentinel. 

Having a plan, thinking things through his whole life, had left him alone and lonely. Maybe it was time to act on instinct, instead.

When the house finally won the ridiculous argument, Carter groaned and planted his hands on his hips.

"Too hell with it. Technically I was off duty twenty minutes ago. I need a beer." With a tilt of his head and a smiled of exasperation, his gaze met Nathan's with warmth that filled up something achingly hollow. "Stark?"

Nathan cleared his throat and shrugged to hide the unexpected reaction to such a casual gesture. "Sure, why not?"

"S.A.R.A.H., we do have beer, right?"

"Of course, Sheriff. Lager on the right side of the refrigerator for you. Dark stout on the bottom left, stored at 55 degrees Fahrenheit, for Director Stark."

"Good." Carter was already busying himself in the fridge when Nathan paused halfway to the kitchen. Jack's house not only knew his favorite beer and the proper temperature to serve it at, but stocked it. It could be the kind of thing S.A.R.A.H. kept track of on her own, but Jack hadn't been surprised.

Fuck it.

Nathan relaxed the tight leash of control he'd been keeping on his libido whenever he was around the Sentinel.

If he couldn't have what he'd come back to Eureka for, he'd have one hell of an affair.

Crossing the last few feet in two strides, he didn’t stop until he was way too far into Carter's space as the sheriff set the beers on the counter. Without hesitation, Nathan wrapped one hand around the back of Jack's neck and swept his tongue across the soft lips parting in surprise. He had just a moment to see the shock darken to something primal before his own eyes slid shut and he let himself be consumed.

Long term affair, he mused, his body lighting up with every murmur and gasp that escaped between them. As long as he could make this last.

Hands clutched, bodies, pressed, tongues dueled as they struggled to get closer, to get more.

Until the hand on his shoulder stopped pulling him closer and started pushing. Jack broke the kiss with a gasp and took one step back.

"Stop. We can't."

"Why not?" Nathan took a step forward to close the gap.

"I don't want this," Carter said with an incomprehensible wave of his hand.

Nathan rocked back. It shouldn't hurt like that. Not in that same jagged shock that had shredded him when he received the divorce papers from Allie.

But Nathan was stubborn and tenacious. And despite what Carter… Jack. Despite what Jack was saying, his eyes were still dark and raking over Nathan. His hands still curling and uncurling like they wanted to reach out and touch.

The odd emphasis in the way the he'd said this and the sheriff's strong moral streak made Nathan think there was something other than the obvious.

"If this is about me and Allie," he slid forward, putting his hands on Jack's hips. "I've realized that isn't ever going to work."

Blue eyes closed and warm body swayed slightly toward Nathan. Then the eyes snapped open and Jack jerked away. He stumbled back toward the living room, tripping over the haplessly strewn book bag as he went.

"It's not about Allison. It's just… I can't…" Carter paused and inhaled, face smoothing out from panic to curiosity. "What's that smell?"

Swallowing a frustrated groan, Nathan shook his head. "I don't smell anything, Carter. Stop trying to change the subject."

But it was too late, the sheriff's gaze had sharpened, his eyes focused and his entire body alert. The perfect picture of Sentinel on the hunt.

"Smells like used vegetable oil. Like fried chick—" He grabbed the book bag and inhaled. "Or like eco-fuel. Son of a bitch!"

He spun on his heel and headed for the entrance. "S.A.R.A.H., door."

Nathan stood stock still for a second trying to figure out what the hell was going on. Then he broke into a trot and followed the sheriff out.

"Carter, wait. Where are you going?"

"I know where the damn bot is. Let's go."


	4. Chapter 4

Part Four

Jack gritted his teeth when Stark jumped into the passenger seat of Jeep. He'd known there was no way Nathan would stay behind but he'd been hoping anyway.

Because his body was still electrified. His heart and his soul yearning for what hadn't really been on offer. Curling his hands tight around the steering wheel to keep from reaching out, reaching over, asking for what he shouldn't have, Jack focused on duty instead. After calling into Jo for transport and backup, he headed the Jeep in the direction of the missing bot.

His preoccupation with Stark had been his downfall this entire case. He'd noticed the scent at every scene but had dismissed it as unimportant. If he hadn't been so absorbed and distracted by his handsome Guide, maybe he would have pieced the whole thing together two weeks ago and tonight's fiasco would never have happened.

His gut clenched and he gritted his teeth against the automatic sound of protest that threatened to spill out. As painful as it was to have had to push Nathan away, as much as those precious few minutes were going to haunt him for the rest of his life, he wouldn't have changed a fucking thing.

He would torture himself with it, but it was precious and perfect and at least he had a taste of that moment with his Guide. Some Sentinels spent their entire lives wondering.

But it couldn't happen again. Jack couldn't allow his job to be compromised by instincts he could never act on. He'd taken an oath and Eureka deserved his best. He'd have to assign Jo to anything involving Stark in the future.

And even if he didn't have the safety of the town to worry about, he owed it to Stark to stay away.

Especially with the extra temptation of knowing Nathan was attracted to him. The Guide instincts were there. No matter how careful he was, it was possible he could manipulate the man into something he had no interest in being involved in.

If he couldn't find a way to avoid Nathan Stark, he was going to have to uproot his daughter, again, and leave town.

Just when they were finally finding a way to connect.

Jack turned onto a concealed driveway and resolutely pushed his personal life to the background. He had no real answers to his problems now, anyway, and he had a case to focus on.

Nathan, who'd thankfully remained silent on the entire drive, choked on a laugh as the Jeep rolled to a stop twenty feet away from the building.

"Is that a tree house? With a garage?"

A two story a-framed cabin balanced around and between several huge trees. A full porch wrapped all the way around it. In its shadow, a two stall garage filled the ground underneath.

With a resigned sigh, Jack scrubbed his hand through his hair and nodded. "Yes. Yes it is."

He was out of the truck and halfway to the steps when Zoe appeared on the porch.

Her eyes were wide and a little frantic as she gripped the railing with white knuckles.

"Dad! What are you doing here?" Outraged bloomed and her mouth twisted into a pout. "You don't need to spy on me, I'm just helping Erwin with his summer school project."

"Where is it, Zoe?"

Panic flashed, lightning quick across her face, before settling back into angry deflection.

"Where's what?" She crossed her arms and settled into a defiant stance.

Before he could tell her that she knew exactly what he was here for, the garage door lifted with a smooth silent glide. The deep fried bio-diesel scent spilled out as a confused Erwin glanced around.

"What's going on, Zo? What's all the noise— Oh. Uh. Hi. Sheriff Carter. Director Stark."

Behind him, next to the souped-up golf cart, the bot and the omniversal remote sat side by side on a long work bench.

"There it is." Jack smiled up at his daughter with smug satisfaction and headed for the garage as she started screeching. 

"You can't go in there. You don't have a warrant. We have rights."

Jack stopped and shook his head. "There is stolen property in plain sight, Zoe. More than enough probable cause."

The sound of another vehicle pulling up behind his SUV made him turn and look, surprised to see Allison getting out of Jo's truck.

"What's going on, Carter?"

"These two juvenile delinquents have stolen government property. Again. They are in possession of GD's missing weather bot and have been using Erwin's universal remote to prank the town with it."

"Omniversal remote." Zoe and Erwin corrected in unison.

Jack rolled his eyes and glared at them both. "Really?"

Allison took in the scene with a deliberate, blank faced look and Jack had a sinking suspicion he wasn't going to like how this played out. For someone who worked for the DoD, she really needed to work on her poker face.

"The weather bot? They didn't steal it. I gave Erwin permission to work with it while he attempted to iron out the problems with his enhancements to the omniversal remote."

Zoe looked smug, Erwin ducked his head in embarrassment, Allison looked faintly guilty and Jo leaned back against her truck trying, and failing, to look like she wasn't amused by the whole farce. Next to him, Nathan's face was edging toward purple in his outraged fury.

And Jack knew he just looked like a landed fish, mouth open and moving but no sound coming out. For the second time that day, he felt like he'd had the wind knocked out of him.

 #

Nathan felt fury and frustration squeeze his blood pressure into dangerous levels. He ground his teeth together but managed to keep his tone clipped and precise.

"You can't just hand over Global property to a teenager, Allison."

"Actually, I can. According to the town charter, Amendment 4, Section C says that students enrolled in Eureka's school district may, with permission of the Department of Defense, have access to Global Dynamic projects for the furtherance of their education, so long as the project is at or below security clearance--"

"I know the statute, Allie," he growled.

She tilted her head and gave him a thoughtful, innocent smile. "I suppose you do. If I remember right, I'm pretty sure that rule was made specifically for you."

She was right, of course. He'd been doing some groundbreaking work that paralleled a failed project at GD. They'd given him access to a decade of work and he solved the problem in a week. Now Global used the exceptional opportunity to recruit future elite scientists early, as well as maximize their talent base.

"Even with the permission of the DoD liaison, you still need me to sign off on the release of tech to an underage researcher."

She fluttered her lashes, eyes going wider, smile growing brighter and he knew he was going to hate whatever came out of her mouth next.

"I sent the request through proper channels. In fact, I gave it to Fargo along with a stack of the requisition approvals. He brought it back to me that afternoon, complete with your signature. I assumed, as Director of Research, you knew enough to read things before you sign them."

Nathan's eyes became slits and anger burned in the back of his throat. She knew him too well and she had played him. The government’s ridiculous insistence of hard copies of everything frustrated him to no end and he resented the paperwork enough to let his usual attention to detail slip.

Jack finally seemed to get over his surprised and braced his hands on his hips as he glared "You couldn't have mentioned that anytime in the past two weeks, while we ran around chasing a science project?"

"I was asleep when Nathan called the first night. I guess I didn't catch all the details."

She mumbled and had the grace to look a little remorseful. In fact, she exchanged guilty glances with Zoe and Jo. Then, Nathan began to understand. It had been a ploy to keep the two of them busy. A scheme to keep the two men from being difficult thorns in their lives. He'd pushed her to this. This was the lengths she'd felt she had to go to, to avoid him.

She'd got what she wanted. He'd barely thought about her. Hadn't asked her out once. Instead, his free time had been spent finding reasons to hang out with Jack.

He glanced at the Sentinel, who'd thrown up his hands in exasperation and was now herding his protesting daughter into his SUV. While carefully not even looking at Nathan. Someone else who would be doing everything he could to avoid Nathan now, as well.

He knew better than to push, but nothing in Nathan was capable of walking away without at least trying to get what he wanted.

Allie turned to talk to Erwin and reassure him that he was not in trouble. Nathan moved to intercept Carter before the sheriff could climb into his driver seat.

"Jack," he kept his voice low and his back to everyone else. "Can we at least talk about earlier?"

Carter's lashes lowered, eyes dropping to his shoes and his expression looked frightened and resigned and a little lost before he shook his head.

"I can't." His voice was soft and barely audible, filled both with regret and resolve. "I'm sorry, Nathan, but I can't."

"Right." He nodded in return and shifted back. It was actually on the tip of his tongue to apologize, but he wasn't sorry for anything except that it had ended. So he turned his back on the Sentinel and smiled brightly at his wary ex-wife.

"Allie, darling. Would you mind giving me a ride back to my house?"

He'd been sure Eureka held everything that he needed when he'd come back. And it did, even if he'd been wrong about what, exactly, that was. Only, like usual, Nathan realized too late, that he couldn't have what he wanted. 

#

Allison flopped into the chair in front of Carter's desk and frowned at him until he looked up at her.

"Allison. Is it a missile on Main Street? Or android dogs run amok?" Rather than the humor and good natured resignation she was used to from the sheriff, the question was edge with irritation. His eyes dropped back to whatever paperwork was spread out on his desk.

She pressed her hand into the back of her neck and tried futilely to rub away the burgeoning headache.

"You have to talk to Nathan."

That got his attention, eyes wide and wary.

"What?"

"You have to talk to Nathan," she repeated, carefully enunciating each word with force. "Neither of you have been acting like yourselves since the night at Erwin's tree house. I saw the way the two of you were with each other that night. And you've been avoiding each other like your lives depended on it, ever since. Jo is really getting sick of having to talk to Fargo. I don't know what the issue is but you two have two fix it."

He swallowed and his eyes slid to the side. "There was a misunderstanding. But there's nothing to fix… "

"He's thinking of turning down the offer of becoming the permanent Director at Global."

A muscle twitched along his jaw, concern flaring in his expression before he ruthlessly covered it with indifference. "I thought you wanted him gone? Isn't that why you set us up on a wild goose chase?"

Allison sighed and let the fresh wave of guilt run its course. Neither Nathan nor Carter had forgiven them for their duplicity and she regretted ever thinking it was a harmless white lie.

"I only wanted him to stop asking me out. I care about him, though. And Global has been his dream since he was fifteen." She smiled sadly as she remembered a night of too much champagne when he'd tipsily admitted that he'd had to give up his childhood dream and being Director of Global Dynamics had been the second best choice of ambition. He'd looked so forlorn, she'd never had the heart to ask him what that first dream had been.

Leaning forward, she held Carter's gaze, putting all of her concern and earnestness into her words.

"He left Global once, so that I wouldn't have to uproot Kevin. He shouldn't have to give it up, again. Since his father died when he was twenty, Eureka is the closest thing he's had to a home and family."

Carter bit his lip, eyes looking haunted and conflicted before nodding with resignation and heading for the door.

"I'll talk to him. And, if I have to, I'll leave town, instead."

Allison blinked, surprised tying her tongue for a second.

"Carter, wait! That's not what I meant!" She shouted after him but he was already out the door.

 #

Jack realized he should have asked Allison where to find Stark before he'd rushed out. Having Fargo give him the runaround for twenty minutes at GD before admitting that the Director was uncharacteristically working from his house had left Jack edgy and irritated on top of the guilt and concern that had been weighing him down since his conversation with Allison.

So he was a keeping tight lid on his emotions when he knocked on Stark's door. When there was no answer, he couldn't help letting his senses loose. The scent, musky and sweet, hit him like a punch to the gut. He could hear the familiar heartbeat and the deliberate movement. After a week of denying himself any contact at all, the sudden saturation of his Guide left him feeling breathless and needy.

It took him a minute to force his body and his mind back into at least a facade of stoic indifference before he let himself in the unlocked door. He paused in the archway between the foyer and the living room as he watched Nathan bending over some cardboard boxes.

"Packing?" he asked, relieved that the intentional nonchalance didn't shake too much as he asked the question. Staying away from each other might be the best idea for everyone involved but the Sentinel couldn't quite handle the idea of losing his Guide permanently.

Stark froze then carefully stood up before turning around. He raised one eye brow and glanced at the door behind Jack, the look speaking loudly about trespassing, without the director saying a word. Jack just crossed his arms, leaned against the arch and gave his best impression of being completely oblivious.

Nathan rolled his eyes and answered. "I never really unpacked, so it's just a matter of putting things back in the boxes they came out of."

"Allison said you're thinking about turning down the permanent job of wrangling GD's insanity."

"That's right."

"Why? You like the job and, more importantly, you're good at it. Allison says it's been your dream since you were fifteen."

Stark turned his head away abruptly, his scent suddenly saturated with melancholy.

Jack had no idea what he'd said to cause that reaction but bit his own tongue hard, wishing he could call it back. Still, Nathan always seemed to be a master of his emotions and a deep breath later got himself back under control. A bland smile turned back and it was almost as painful as the sadness had been.

"Yeah, well, with credentials like mine, jobs are a dime a dozen. There's nothing for me in Eureka. Even if I still wanted Allie, she made it more than clear that that door was closed. And that she'd go to great lengths to keep it closed."

Heart racing, Jack tried to ignore the excitement tracing along his skin. Nathan had said something about being over Allison in his kitchen but he'd been too wrapped up in the cascading events of the night to absorb it.

"If you still wanted her?"

It didn't matter. Shouldn't, couldn't matter. But the territorial Sentinel needed to know his Guide wasn't still in love with his ex.

"Funny isn't it? I came to Eureka intent on winning her back. And yet I was so easily sidetracked, I never got around to it."

He looked directly at Jack then and didn't even try to hide anything. The attraction, the regret, the frustration, the anger, the hurt. It was all there in sharp, sad blue eyes.

"I found something else, without even realizing it at first. Something that I wanted more. Unfortunately, that something doesn't want me any more than she did."

The air left Jack's lungs in a rush. His Guide wanted him. Words that a part of him had been longing to hear for fifteen years. And there was nothing he could do about it. Nothing he could say to make it right between them. Not without going against every oath he'd ever taken.

Nothing, except, "I'm sorry, Nathan. More sorry than I can ever explain."

Nathan’s laugh was short and sharp and full of doubt.

"Right. Sorry. Allison said the same thing." He turned back toward the boxes and, back to Jack but he kept talking. "It's funny. When I was nine I saw a documentary about Sentinels and Guides. I wanted that. I wanted to be a Guide more than anything in the world. My father kept telling me it was a waste, that I was too gifted to be tied to some Neanderthal. To be stuck as a sidekick for a soldier or a cop. It took six years to wear him down. When he finally took me to get tested I was so sure. When the doctor told me I wasn't a Guide, it was the worst day of my life."

His shoulders rose and fell. "It doesn't feel much better being denied a Sentinel this time around, either."

"Wait, what?"

Jack fought to catch his breath, to rewind the words in his head sure he heard wrong.

Nathan had been tested? Nathan wanted to be a Guide?

"You heard me. Now go away and let me pack, Sheriff."

He was halfway across the living room, hand on Nathan's arm before good sense stopped him from making a mess of the whole thing.

Nathan glared down at Jack's hand on him, before transferring the dark look up to his face.

"You need to get tested again," he blurted out and then winced. But fuck it, there wasn't anything in the law or tradition that covered this situation.  

"I just told you, I'm not a Guide. I was tested when I was fifteen."

So many words fought to escape Jack's mouth, he ground down on his back teeth to keep all but the most necessary ones locked in his throat.

"You. Need. To. Get. Tested. Again."

"Why?" Nathan was furious and belligerent and pushing right back.

Jack inhaled slow and deep, forced his body to relax, and stopped trying to hide.

"I can't," he whispered. Raw and pleading and uncaring what he was revealing. "I can't say anything else. Trust me. Please."

Deep wrinkles curved in Nathan's forehead before dawning understanding brightened everything.

"Okay," he whispered back, voice as ragged and raw as Jack's had been. "Okay. I'll call Allison and have her meet us at the GD lab."

Jack knew he shouldn't go. That he'd pushed propriety as far as he dared. He should go back to his office and wait. Instead, he loosened his grip to rub Nathan's arm gently and smiled like he'd just won the lottery. "Okay. Good. Let's go."

 #

Nathan found himself amused by the serious concern pulling at Allie's frown when she walked into the private infirmary room he'd commandeered. A few weeks ago, he'd have given anything to see that look of affection and worry on his behalf. It was ironic that he only got it now, when he no longer needed it.

It was less funny when she gave Carter, loitering in the hallway, a dark look of suspicion before closing the door firmly and turning on the white noise machine.

"What's going on, Nathan?"

He smirked at her and unbuttoned the sleeve of his shirt. "I told you on the phone. I need you to take blood and run a Guide detection series."

"Nathan." She started, then took a deep breath. He could actually see her trying to gather her thoughts. "Nathan, you're 38 years old."

"And?"

"Most people have long since made the decision about getting this particular test." Another drawn out pause in which he ignored her to finish rolling up his sleeve. "Nathan. What I'm trying to say, is that it is illegal for anyone to try and coerce you into becoming a Guide."

He laughed at her tight, serious expression. "Allison. You've known me long enough to know no one has ever coerced or guilted me into doing anything. Ever."

She raked her eyes over him one more time before nodding and reaching for his arm.

The pinch of the needle entering his arm was fleeting and then they both silently watched the vial fill with blood.

When she was done, the vial properly labeled and secured she hesitated one more time.

"You're absolutely sure about this?"

"Absolutely."

"All right. It will take about ten minutes to get the results." She left through the second door in the room, the one that led directly into the medical lab.

He used the time to flip through his phone and catch up on emails he'd been ignoring all day. Though he continued to ignore Fargo's.

Precisely ten minutes later, Allison walked back in with the clipboard held tight to her chest and her face kept deliberately blank.

"Well?"

"Before I tell you the results, I think you owe me some kind of an explanation. This really isn't something that happens out of the blue."

On the one hand he didn't owe her anything. They were divorced and she'd made it clear he was no longer a part of her life, that way. On the other hand, she was the closest thing he had to family.

And, he knew her well enough to know it would be faster to give her what she wanted then spend the next hour arguing over it.

So he gave her the short version. His father's reluctance to let him be tested, the ultimate let down of being told he wasn't a Guide. He skirted the highlights of his unusual relationship with Carter. Just explained the sheriff had been incredibly careful about not saying anything while making it clear that a new test might be in order.

"I don't understand. Twenty-three years ago, GD was on the cutting edge of testing. The chance that you were misidentified is less than one percent."

"I didn't get tested at Global. Dad talked me into a testing center outside of Eureka… Son of a bitch."

He picked up his phone and began searching for answers.

"What are you doing?"

"Looking to see… aha, the Tacoma Guide Institute wasn't built until 1992. Which means whoever it was that tested me, they were definitely not official."

"But why?"

"Because my father didn't want me to waste my life. He was already basking in the reflected glory of my achievements. He knew in another year I'd be old enough not to need his permission for the testing. He lied to me."

Rage boiled inside of him and there was nothing he could do about it. His father was long gone and there was no way to get the lost years back. Then the rest of what Allie said hit him.

"Misdiagnosed? So I am a Guide?" Awe, and hope and wonder washed away the furious grief.

Allie smiled, bright and real for the first time since she'd walked into the infirmary. She handed him the clipboard and a pen. He read through the medical jargon until his saw the words. Status: Guide. A single sweep of ink at the bottom officially registered him as active.

 "Congratulations. I'd give you one of the cute silver pins, but I have a feeling it's not going to be long before you need a gold one."

"God, I hope so."

He was on his feet and headed for the door before she could finish offering her congratulations.

Carter. Jack. His Sentinel. Was standing directly across from the door body tense and eyes riveted automatically on Nathan. The slow sweep of his eyes over Nathan's chest and the crumbling of hope made him realize he should have taken the damn pin, after all.

Instead he stepped right up into Carter's body and put his lips on the Sentinel's ear. Softly, he whispered, letting his breath ghost across the sensitive skin.

"I'm a Guide. Signed and sealed." He pressed his body even closer until they both gasped at the pleasure.

Jack's hand snaked around his neck to gently cradled Nathan's jaw. His other hand wormed between them to rest over Nathan's heart.

"You are my Guide. I offer my world to share with you. I offer my life to protect you. I offer my heart to shelter you." He paused, his voice breaking under the tight earnestness. "Will you accept me as your Sentinel?"

The words were old and traditional and more powerful than Nathan ever expected.

He copied Jack's hold, hand over the other man's rapidly beating heart.

"You are my Sentinel. I will gladly share your world. I offer my life in return for yours, I will shelter in you and shelter you within me. I am your Guide."

"Thank god." Jack murmured before covering Nathan's lips with his own.

Eventually, the sound of Allison clearing her throat broke them apart. It was with only a slight hint of embarrassment that he remembered they were in a very public hallway in the middle of GD.

"Allie?"

"I've got this under control. While you two were… getting reacquainted I arranged for Zoe to gather her stuff. She can stay with me for a few days while you two… bond. I'll let Jo know she needs to cover any and all crises for the next few days." Her smile got even brighter. "I assume it's okay to let the committee know you're accepting the permanent posting?"

He glanced at Jack who smirked at him. "What? And here I thought you'd be my deputy?"

Nathan rolled his eyes but didn't stop gazing at his Sentinel. "Tell them I'll be in touch to discuss my compensation package."

Then he brushed a brief, promising kiss over Jack's lips.

"Let's go home, Sentinel."

"Yeah," Jack cleared his throat. "Yeah. I like the sound of that. Let's go home, Guide."

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Art for Oldest Story in the World](https://archiveofourown.org/works/708654) by [sunryder](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunryder/pseuds/sunryder)




End file.
